We, the respected leaders of the 27 EU Member States failed once again to show to our citizens that we still believe in the European project and that we have understood that only a joint agreement and a commonly agreed budget – as a convincing sign of our good faith – can fight successfully the political-economic-financial crisis that surrounds Europe.

We have clearly shown that the egoist interests of our own single countries are still much more important than the future of the whole integration altogether. We all wanted to be winners even if meanwhile we all become looser. With that selfish attitude we raised our hands and tacitly accepted that our trust in our common European future has been shaken.

We admit that a simple school class from any European primary school would have been acted much more wisely than we did. Although we all know that the best examples are the most persuasive tools to gain the support of the general public – often called as the misty ‘financial markets’ – we were not able to reach a compromise about the long-term budget of the EU the whole integration is based on.

Let’s be honest about it: we simply gave up.

The problem is that we have still not understood that the single Member States alone – even the mightiest ones – are simply not able either to resist the repeating waves of the current crisis or to comply with the demanding criteria of the globalised competition of the XXIst century.

We made it absolutely clear to all global actors that Europe – as a unified entity – cannot be taken seriously. Although we intend to follow dreaming about Europe as a leading power, we demonstrated that we were unable to accept the very basic condition of such an experiment: our budget.

We showed no willingness at all to understand the other’s opinion. We neglected the spirit of cooperation and solidarity and we have not taken into account the concerns of the European Commission and of the European Parliament representing by the way our common interests. We are sure that they understood well that we are counting only with our own interests.

Nonetheless, we will not forget to tell 27 versions about what really happened in Brussels these days. Obviously, we are more than happy to blame ‘Brussels’ for this failure. We will state with pleasure that all the responsibility lies only and exclusively on ‘Brussels’. We will certainly remain silent about the fact the ‘Brussels’ as an independent entity does not exist at all since we, esteemed leaders of the Member States, are part of what we usually call ‘Brussels’.

Finally, in order to hide the still prevailing mistrustfulness among us, we accepted an irritating optimistic formulated press release knowing that the gap between the ceremonial declaration and the reality is bigger than ever.

As a conclusion, may we reassure all interested parties that we were pleased to note the excellent atmosphere that prevailed during the negotiations.

Adamant Hungarian advocate for better public health, lost in Europe.
“The only wealth which you will keep forever is the wealth you have given away.” ~Marcus Aurelius

About: Hungarian-European Citizen for Better Health

Zoltán is a passionate campaigner, manager and facilitator, strongly committed to the public interest throughout his professional career. As a Hungarian qualified lawyer, he has a proven record on effective campaign management and advocacy, including staff management and fundraising activities. He is a coalition builder and believes in the need to fight inequalities and social injustice. His competencies are based on effectively delivered projects, consultancy services to member organisations and campaigns. In addition to his native Hungarian, Zoltán is fluent in English, French and German. You can contact me at: zoltanmassaykosubek@yahoo.com